KARACHI: Move to shift artefacts to Lahore slammed
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 10: Art lovers, archaeologists, historians and members of the legal fraternity have poured scorn on the move to shift the department of archaeology and museums from Karachi to Lahore.
A meeting, organized by the Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai Chair of Karachi University on Friday, termed the decision unwise, and said not only was it anti-Sindh but in fact it was anti-Pakistan as it created a feeling of hatred between the provinces.
The resolution said relations between the provinces were already under strain over distribution of the Indus River waters, and if this decision was not withdrawn, the Sindhi masses would feel robbed and cheated and feel that the federation was not safeguarding their rights and unduly favouring one federating unit.
They urged the President, Pervez Musharraf, and the Sindh Governor, Mohammedmian Soomro, to intervene and get the decision cancelled taken by a misguided official.
The resolution was presented by Siraj-ul-Haq Memon, one of the speakers at the meeting organized to mark Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s 258 death anniversary. The resolution was unanimously adopted by the meeting.
In a statement, Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture expressed “sorrow and outrage at the relocation of the department of archaeology and museums of Pakistan from Karachi to Lahore. This shift can only be termed an extremely unfortunate and unprincipled action. The library forms an invaluable resource for all educational institutions in and around Karachi. This move does not signify a mere depletion but a complete deprivation of such resources in Karachi.”
The statement adds that “we would like to recommend that the efficiency and alacrity with which this colossal mistake is being carried out will now be exercised to rectify the situation. Measures, with immediate effect, should be taken by the authorities concerned to see to it that the collection of books and antiquities from the department of archaeology and museums of Pakistan are kept in Karachi where there is dire need for its existence.”
A press statement, signed by Dr N. A. Baloch, Dr Hamida Khuhro and Qadir Junejo, said that “the news that the library and artefacts of the department of archaeology, which have been in this city since the birth of Pakistan, are being moved to Lahore is shocking to the students and scholars in the province of Sindh.”
“This is a collection which has been built up in the city over the past 50 years and has served generations of students and scholars. It has been the stay and support of scholarship in a region where there is a severe dearth of libraries and the level of scholarship is limited due to this fact,” it adds.
The statement says that “the removal of this collection by the department of archaeology is completely unacceptable to the academic and educated community of Sindh. It is precisely this kind of irresponsible action which brings the federal government into disrepute and shakes the confidence of the provinces.”
In his statement, former federal minister of law Iqbal Haider expressed utter shock over the decision of the department of archaeology to transfer invaluable and irreplaceable treasure of hundreds of thousands of books and more than 150,000 antiquities from Karachi to Lahore.
He said the decision of the government was not only illegal, unconstitutional but also in violation of the provincial autonomy and interest of the smaller federating units.
“The unjustifiable and undue haste that has been shown in implementation of this decision in a matter of 12 days also gives every reason to doubt the bona fides and actual motives of the authorities.”
Talking to Dawn, conservationist Yasmeen Lari feared that because of the shifting process a large number of artefacts would go missing. “Besides, there is not any space in Lahore Fort.”
